Combination-evener.



UITED ran JACOB G. LEHMANN, OF MERRILL, IOWAL ooMB INATIo -EvENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 20, 1917.

Application filed June 16, 1916. Serial No. 103,992.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACOB G. LEHMANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Merrill, in the county of Plymouth, State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Combination-Evener; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to certain new and useful im rovements in draft equalizers, and has l dr its object to provide a device of this character which embodies novel features of construction whereby adjustment can be made for using three,

four, five or six horses, and all twisting or side draft is avoided.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a draft equalizer which is simple and inexpensive in its construction, which "can be quickly adjusted for use with the desired number of horses or draft animals, which distributes the load evenly among the draft animals, and which avoids all objectionable side draft.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel combinations and arrangements of the parts as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the novel features thereof being pointed out in the appended claim.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of a combination evener constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of one end thereof.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the opposite end thereof.

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view through the evener, taken on the line 1- l of Fig. 1, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by'the same reference characters.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate one embodiment ofthe invention, the numeral 1 designates a transversely disposed equalizing lever, said lever having the metal reinforcing caps 2 applied to the the arrangement extremities thereof, and being formed with a series of pivot openings 3, 1 and 5, any selected one of which can be engaged by a pivot bolt 6 for attaching the equalizing lever to a stub tongue 7 or like member projecting from the vehicle or implement to be drawn. A lever 8 is pivotally connected at an intermediate point in its length, by means of a bolt 9, to one extremity of the equalizing lever 1. The inner end of the lever 8 extends over the top of the equalizing lever 1, while the outer end thereof is offset clownwardly at 8 so as to be disposed substantially in the plane of the lower face of the lever 1. An extension 8 projects inwardly from this offset outer end of the lever 8, and the extremity of the lever 1 is received between this extension 8 and the body portion of the lever 8, the pivot bolt-9 extending through all of the said members. The two extremities of the lever 8 are connected by links 10 to swingletrees 11 which are disposed at slightly different elevations.

A second lever 12 is pivotally connected by means of a bolt 13 to the opposite extremity of the equalizing lever 1. The inner end of the lever 12 extends over the top of the equalizing lever 1, while the outer end thereof is oflset downwardly by means of the offset portion 12* and disposed substantially in the plane of the lower face of the lever 1. An extension 12 projects inwardly from the downwardly oflset outer end of the lever 12, and the extremity of the lever 1 is received between the said extension 12 and the body portion of the lever 12. The extremities of the lever 12 are provided with openings 14; to which the swingletrees 15 can be attached, by means of suitable link members 16, when the device is used as a four horse evener, and the main pivot bolt 6 is placed in engagement with the central pivot opening 3 of the equalizing lever 1.

The four horses are then arranged abreast of each other, and the pull is equalized by of the levers.

The lever 12 is preferably formed of metal, and the rear edge thereof is provided at points spaced from the extremities thereof with laterally projecting tongues 17, the tongue 17 on the outer arm of the lever be ing returned downwardly, while the tongue 17 on the inner end of the lever is returned upwardly. Short levers 18 are pivotally engaged at their middle points by bolts 19 which extend between the returned tongues 17 and the lever 12. When the device is used as a six horse evener, the links 16 of the sWingletrees 15 are connected to the outer ends of the respective short levers 18, the inner ends of the said short levers being connected by links 20 to a diagonally disposed clevis bar 21, said clevis bar being suitably connected at 22 to a doubletree 23 which has swingletrees 24L suitably con nected by links 25 to the'extremities thereof. Thedoubletree 23 is arranged in advance of the draft animals hitched to the swingletrees 15, and the pivot bolt 6 of the stub tongue 7 then engages the pivot opening 4 of the main equalizing lever 1, so that the two horses pulling upon the end lever 8 have twice the leverage of the four horses pulling upon the end lever 12.

In order to use the device as a five horse evener, the end lever 8 would be removed and one of the swingletrees 11 connected to the pivot bolt 9, the other four horses being connected to the end lever 12, as previously described. The main pivot bolt (3 of the stub tongue would be shifted into engagement with the pivot opening 5 of the main lever 1, thereby equalizing single horse at one end the pull between the of the main lever 1,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for and the four horses at the opposite end of the said lever.

Having thusdescribed the invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A draft equalizer including a main lever, end levers pivotally mounted upon the extremities of the main lever, one of the end levers being provided upon each arm thereof with a laterally projecting returned arm, a short lever .pivotally mounted between each of said laterally projecting returned arms and the end lever carrying the same, swingletrees connected to the ends of the opposite operatively connected end lever, a clevis bar short levers, swingleto the inner ends of the trees connected to the outer ends of the short levers, a doubletree connected to the clevis bar, and swingletrees at the ends of the said doubletree.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JACOB G. LEHhIiANN.

Witnesses WV. J. LAWRENCE, OLLIE Wooonnrr.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

